By attacking wasteful government spending, President Barack Obama has shown that he understands the mood of the American people. Polls say they support government action – if it's effective.

In his speech to the nation, Obama singled out five sacred cows of spending, championed by Republican and Democratic constituencies alike. If he persuades Congress to act, he'll have gone a long way to show that Washington is serious about eliminating wasteful, ineffective programs.

Here are the five items:

• Education programs that don't work. The 2008 Department of Education budget included 758 congressional earmarks not requested by the department, totaling $327 million. Further, the Office of Management and Budget has identified 47 duplicative, unnecessary or ineffective programs totaling $3.3 billion. Congress needs to examine all of them. Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, who chairs the House Education and Labor Committee, will be key to success.
• Direct subsidies to large agribusinesses. The farm bill includes $5.2 billion in payments to a handful of large farms that raise a few crops, such as corn and wheat. Two-thirds of the money goes to just 10 percent of farms. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein need to lead on this issue.
• No-bid defense contracts and obsolete Cold War-era weapons systems. California members of Congress have been at the center of this swamp. Recall how now-retired Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, helped win earmarks worth $37 million for a technology not requested by the military. Former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-San Diego, was convicted of taking $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors in exchange for inserting earmarks into defense spending bills. This swamp needs draining.

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